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Newsletter
259
October 16, 2012 |
In
This Issue... |
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3 Bad
Habits You Have to Break
Whether they realize it or not,
people's bad habits can seriously slow your team down. So, how can you help them
deal with these?
First this week, we look at managing
perfectionists - learn more about the dangers of the perfectionism
habit, and find out how you can harness perfectionists' potential.
We
also explore strategies for dealing with lazy colleagues, and
we help you put a stop to rumors and gossip.
Enjoy this
newsletter! |
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James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson
MindTools.com - Essential skills for an
excellent career! |
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| Featured
Resources at Mind Tools |
Managing
Perfectionists
Harnessing the Commitment to
Excellence
Do you have perfectionists on your team? Learn how to use
their strengths and maximize their potential. All
Readers' Skill-Builder |
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Rumors in
the Workplace
Managing and Preventing
Them
Rumors in the workplace can destroy productivity and harm
morale. Learn how to manage and, ultimately, prevent rumors at work. All Readers' Skill-Builder |
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| ...
And From the Mind Tools Club |
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Online
Training
Pros and Cons of Virtual
Learning
Online training can deliver a convenient and engaging
learning experience. Find out whether it's right for you.
All Members' Skill-Builder |
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Hungry to Learn More?
Sink
your teeth into the
Mind Tools Club!
It's stuffed with more than 1,000 different tools, downloads, modules
and interviews; all designed to nourish your career.
Find Out More >> |
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Editors'
Choice Article
Managing
Perfectionists
Harnessing the Commitment to Excellence
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Cassandra is exceptionally bright and talented. She's excellent
with detail-oriented work, and she has incredibly high
standards.
However, she spends too much of her time focusing on details
that are not relevant to a project's goal, she struggles to delegate even minor
tasks, and she rewrites her work so often that she misses deadlines. The problem
is that she's too much of a perfectionist.
If you have a
perfectionist on your team, then this story might sound familiar. Perfectionists
often produce excellent work, but their excessive attention to detail and
frequent reworking of projects can cause a lot of problems within a team. |
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Learn how to get the best from perfectionists on your team.
©
iStockphoto/BartCo |
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So, what can you do to harness the potential of
perfectionists, while minimizing the downsides of their perfectionism? In this
article, we'll look at several strategies that you can use.
What is
Perfectionism?
The term "Perfectionism"
is attributed to people who pursue flawless work and set unrealistically high
standards and goals for themselves. Perfectionists tend to be very critical of
the work that they do - even when it's done well, they always manage to find a
fault.
Of course, a small amount of perfectionism, or "adaptive
perfectionism," is a good thing. Adaptive perfectionists have high standards,
work with optimism and pleasure, and consistently desire to improve their
knowledge and skills. Importantly, they know when to stop work and "ship" the
finished product.
The negative form of this condition is called
"maladaptive perfectionism." Maladaptive perfectionists often have a fear of
failure. They're never completely satisfied with the work that they do,
they're often unhappy or anxious, and they're obsessed with producing perfect
work, even when it takes too long to deliver.
It's often easy to identify
team members who are maladaptive perfectionists. If a team member's obsession
with being "perfect" starts to affect their or their team's performance
negatively, then it's likely that their perfectionism is
maladaptive.
The Problems with Maladaptive
Perfectionism
One of the most damaging effects of maladaptive
perfectionism is its impact on health and well-being. Numerous studies have
linked it to procrastination, depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, general anxiety, severe stress, low self-esteem, and even
suicide.
Maladaptive perfectionism can also negatively affect the morale
and effectiveness of a team. Maladaptive perfectionists often find it difficult
to meet deadlines, delegate work, and accept constructive criticism. They'll
often micromanage teammates when they do succeed in delegating a task, and they
can be less productive than others, simply because they spend so much time
checking and rechecking their work.
While all these effects are bad, it's
important to realize that maladaptive perfectionists mean well. They're
committed to their work, as well as to the organization's success. If they
didn't care about what they were doing, or who they were doing it for, they
wouldn't waste their time on it!
Also, keep in mind that, sometimes, a
job or task needs to be perfect: for instance, when you're sending work out to
clients, rolling out a new product, or doing jobs where people's health and
safety - or large amounts of money - are at stake. Perfectionists can be assets
in these situations, so it's important to find a good balance.
Warning:
Maladaptive
perfectionism can cause depression, anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem. You
should take the advice of suitably qualified health professionals if you have
any related concerns over your health, or if you are experiencing significant or
persistent unhappiness. |
Help Them
Develop Self-Awareness
Maladaptive perfectionists often don't
realize how their behavior affects others. This includes underestimating the
importance of the deadlines that they miss, as well as not realizing how much
they're upsetting their colleagues. This is why it's important to help your
perfectionists develop their self-awareness.
Start by having an honest
conversation with them, to find out if they're aware of their maladaptive
perfectionist tendencies. Next, communicate how these behaviors are not only
limiting their performance, but that of other people as well. Be specific about
what you've noticed.
Be sensitive when you address this issue. Remember,
your perfectionist team members care a great deal about the quality of their
work. Make sure that you express your gratitude for all that they've done. Point
out times when their perfectionism was an asset (for instance, they might have
spotted an important detail or a mistake that you missed.) But you also need to
be clear about how their behavior is hurting others and limiting their
potential.
You can help maladaptive perfectionists develop
self-awareness by putting them into new situations. Often, a new experience
or challenge forces people to be more self-aware; they might also learn
something new about themselves. Keeping a daily journal will also help
perfectionist team members develop self-awareness.
When you notice that
your perfectionist team members are too focused on an unimportant detail or
process, commend their focus and determination, but stress that it's time to
move on. If they're stuck on doing something in a specific way, encourage them
to come up with an alternative solution. Remind them of the most important goals
of the task or project.
Help Them Understand the Cost
Implications
Maladaptive perfectionists often struggle to sign
off on a project, regardless of whether they miss a deadline or run over budget.
Missed deadlines can cause the team embarrassment, can result in a loss of
reputation, and can delay important projects or undermine their business
case.
If you notice that your maladaptive perfectionist team member is
missing deadlines, or is running over budget, help him understand the cost
implications of his actions. Encourage your perfectionist team member to use Action Plans
so that he can organize his workload, and help him to schedule his time
effectively, so that he can avoid missing deadlines.
Help
Them Delegate
Maladaptive perfectionists often find it difficult
to delegate tasks, even when they're snowed under with work.
Start by
explaining how successful
delegation will help them work more productively, and help the team move
forward as a whole. Suggest several tasks that they might be able to delegate,
as well as the team member that you think is best suited for each
task.
Even when your maladaptive perfectionists succeed in delegating a
task, there's a good chance that they'll micromanage. Help them avoid
micromanagement by communicating how important it is that they give other
people the chance to learn and grow from the task.
Make Sure That
They're In the Right Role
Maladaptive perfectionists can be
unsuccessful when they're put in charge of large projects, or when they're in a
varied role. This is not because of a lack of skill or ability, but rather
because their attention to detail works against them. Tasks that perfectionists
can struggle with include those with a lot of different priorities, or tasks
that depend on the work or involvement of several other team
members.
Instead, make sure that they're in a role that plays to their
strengths. This is any role that has a limited scope, and is particularly
detail-focused. While they might have to change
careers within the organization, transitioning to a role that depends on
attention to detail will likely mean that they're happier and more productive
than they are now.
You can help them in their current role by assigning
deadlines to every task, and by being firm about what will happen if they miss
the deadline. You can also team them up with less detail-oriented colleagues (as
long as they have patience!) This kind of partnership will force them to spend
less time on unimportant details, and will encourage them to let go of work that
isn't triple-checked.
Provide Feedback
Carefully
No matter how much positive feedback you start with,
your maladaptive perfectionists are likely going to focus only on the negative.
To manage this tendency, ask how you can best give them feedback, and
listen to what they have to say. They might be able to give you a useful insight
into how they would like these sessions to be conducted.
Help them handle
criticism by stressing that feedback isn't about them personally; the best
feedback is intended to help them grow and develop professionally. Encourage
them to ask questions if anything you say isn't clear, and paraphrase what
you've said before you finish speaking.
Learn From
Mistakes
Maladaptive perfectionists often have a fear of
failure. This means that they may not take on new challenges unless they're
sure that they can complete them successfully.
Encourage your
perfectionists to confront this fear. Let them know that mistakes - and even
outright failures (as long as they're minor) - are an important part of learning
and growth. If they never take a risk and learn from their mistakes, they'll
never reach their full potential, either personally or
professionally.
You should also teach them how to think
positively. Positive thinking and visualization of positive outcomes can
help them overcome their fear of failure.
Key Points
Maladaptive
perfectionism occurs when someone pursues unrealistically high standards in his
or her work. Maladaptive perfectionists are often very self-critical, and are
rarely satisfied with a finished task. More importantly, they often miss
deadlines, they can fail to delegate, and they can upset the people they work
with.
Numerous studies have linked perfectionism to procrastination,
depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety,
severe stress, low self-esteem, and even suicide.
If you have
perfectionists on your team, harness their potential by helping them develop
self-awareness, by making sure that they're in the right role, by providing
careful feedback, and by helping them learn from mistakes. |
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